Please confirm the following to sign-up

I confirm that I am over 16 years old and I am happy to receive newsletters and up-to-date information about Top Universities, Top MBA and QS Leap. I understand that my data will be held for as long as I am registered with the site and I will continue to receive such communications until I amend my user profile. I am happy to receive information from universities, media partners and other 3rd party opportunities.*

I am happy to receive information about other products and services within QS Group including Careers, Scholarships and Admissions.

SAT RESOURCES

Average SAT Scores By State (US)

Many students take the SAT every year. These include students from your state as well as from other states in the US. An interesting way to benchmark your scores is by looking at average SAT scores by state. This gives you an indication of your own performance in the state. Looking at these numbers is also interesting because it tells you about the states with the best SAT scores in the US and other such interesting metrics.

Average SAT scores by state:

State

Critical Reading

Mathematics

Writing

Total SAT score

Alabama

545

538

533

1616

Alaska

509

503

482

1494

Arizona

523

527

502

1552

Arkansas

568

569

551

1688

California

495

506

491

1492

Colorado

582

587

567

1736

Connecticut

504

506

504

1514

Delaware

462

461

445

1368

District of Columbia

441

440

432

1313

Florida

486

480

468

1434

Georgia

490

485

475

1450

Hawaii

487

508

477

1472

Idaho

467

463

442

1372

Illinois

599

616

587

1802

Indiana

496

499

478

1473

Iowa

589

600

566

1755

Kansas

588

592

568

1748

Kentucky

588

587

574

1749

Louisiana

563

559

553

1675

Maine

468

473

451

1392

Maryland

491

493

478

1462

Massachusetts

516

529

507

1552

Michigan

594

609

585

1788

Minnesota

595

607

576

1778

Mississippi

580

563

570

1713

Missouri

596

599

582

1777

Montana

561

556

538

1655

Nebraska

589

590

576

1755

Nevada

494

494

470

1458

New Hampshire

525

530

511

1566

New Jersey

500

521

499

1520

New Mexico

551

544

528

1623

New York

489

502

478

1469

North Carolina

498

504

476

1478

North Dakota

597

608

586

1791

Ohio

557

563

537

1657

Oklahoma

576

569

548

1693

Oregon

523

521

502

1546

Pennsylvania

499

504

482

1485

Puerto Rico

463

450

450

1363

Rhode Island

494

494

484

1472

South Carolina

488

487

467

1442

South Dakota

592

597

564

1753

Tennessee

581

574

568

1723

Texas

470

486

454

1410

Utah

579

575

554

1708

Vermont

523

524

507

1554

Virginia

518

516

499

1533

Virgin Islands

414

388

412

1214

Washington

502

510

484

1496

West Virginia

509

497

495

1501

Wisconsin

591

605

575

1771

Wyoming

589

586

562

1737

Forbes had written an article last year highlighting the trend of Midwest states dominating the SAT. The article reasoned that despite the relatively low number of students taking the SAT in this region, the best brains sit for the exam. So arguably, if you are from the Midwest, the competition for a good score will be a lot tougher than from other parts of the US.The mean SAT scores for total group students taking the SAT in 2015 were: Critical Reading – 495, Mathematics – 511, Writing – 484. Illinois is the state with the highest SAT score and is the only one to breach the 1800 mark to stand at 1802. This is well above the national SAT average of 1490. Other states such as North Dakota (1791) and Michigan (1788) are also not far behind Illinois. In fact, North Dakota was last year’s winner with an average score of 1816. However, its numbers have taken a beating this year and fallen by a good 25 points this year.

The dubious distinction of the state with the lowest SAT score goes to the District of Columbia. The state is well below the national average with a SAT score of only 1313.